The Shape of Things to Come? Part 2

The G.W. Bush presidency is revolutionary in its assertion that freedom is a universal aspiration. Snooty Europeans have been telling him that only after the Palestinians are satisfied and/or until the U.S. dumps Israel can we find out if Arab/Muslims are capable of living in free societies. Repressive Arab regimes don’t want to find out at all. But in the wake of the liberation of Afghanistan and Iraq, there are Arab/Muslim voices promoting intellectual honesty in a region where the punishment for nonconformity is severe, if not fatal.

The G.W. Bush presidency is revolutionary in its assertion that freedom is a universal aspiration. Snooty Europeans have been telling him that only after the Palestinians are satisfied and/or until the U.S. dumps Israel can we find out if Arab/Muslims are capable of living in free societies. Repressive Arab regimes don’t want to find out at all. But in the wake of the liberation of Afghanistan and Iraq, there are Arab/Muslim voices promoting intellectual honesty in a region where the punishment for nonconformity is severe, if not fatal. Thanks to the Internet (and MEMRI at www.memri.org) they can find each other and we can find them. Here is just a small sample of the past eight weeks:

• “Develop Relations with Israel and Drop the Negative Attitudes toward Her,” Hazem Abd Al-Rahman in Egyptian government daily Al-Ahram.
• “Arab Regimes Must Understand the U.S. Administration Supports the Freedom and Rights of the Arabs,” Ahmad al-Jarallah, editor-in-chief of Kuwait’s Al-Siyassah.
• In the Friday sermon on PA-TV, Muhammad Jammal Abu Hunud called from the Presidency Mosque in Gaza for the development of modern Islamic discourse, to recognize the “other,” to treat him with tolerance, and to avoid extremism and violence. PLO Chairman Abu Mazen was in attendance.
• “Free Elections in the Arab World Occur Only in Occupied Iraq and Palestine,” by Salama Ni’mat for the London Arabic-language daily Al-Hayat.
• “Drama and Tyranny,” by Ahmad al-Baghdadi in the UAE daily Al-Itihad. “Political tyranny is the reason the producers… take pains to avoid dealing with the harsh reality of the Arabs. We are not in countries that believe in liberty, and therefore it is better for a person to be in a safe place, not to cause himself harm.”
• Egyptian intellectual Dr. Amr Isma’il wrote on a progressive Arabic website “Why can’t we see things as the rest of the world sees them? Why do we always feel that someone is conspiring against us, and that he is the cause of our problems and our cultural and economic backwardness?”
• Eissa Al-Halyan in the Saudi daily Al-Jazirah, argued that no Arab universities deserved to be on the list of the top 500 universities in the world, and criticized Arab schools’ teaching methods, scholarship and academic priorities. “It came as no surprise… to learn that the latest annual ranking…contained not a single Arab university. Israel, on the other hand, got seven listings out of the total of 500…. Tell me one Arab University that can stand side-by-side with Oxford, Cambridge, Harvard.” Or the Technion.

Secretary Powell has done a tremendous job of carrying the message of American support for freedom to parts of the world that don’t necessarily want to hear it, including parts of Western Europe. We hope Dr. Rice will continue to stick it to the politically powerful on behalf of those taking a huge risk for something better.